


Zanfan High School AU

by Lieju



Category: Gaston (Bande Dessinée), Spirou et Fantasio
Genre: M/M, teacher/student relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:46:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8014504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Highshool AU. Written as an art-trade. Fantasio is a young teacher who clashes with the problem student Zantafio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zanfan High School AU

 

”Here's the classroom.” Principal Champignac told him.

 

Fantasio tried to will at least somewhat competent-looking expression to his face.

The Principal gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.”It will be fine.”

 

The young teacher nodded, wondering if it was obvious he was nervous or if the older man was just guessing based on the fact that it was his first real teaching job.

”Ah, I almost forgot.” The principal pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. ”Mr. Zorglub, that is, the teacher you'll be substituting for, told me to give you this. I think it's some of his notes on your students.”

 

”Oh. Thank you.”

 

”I'll leave you to it. Good luck.”

 

Fantasio opened the paper, deciding to read it first. Anything to delay stepping into the classroom.

It turned out to be a list of names.

  * Gaston Lagaffe: KEEP AWAY FROM ANY CHEMICALS. If you give him any assignments, make sure to pair him up with L _éon_ Prunelle and hope he keeps him out of trouble.

  * Spirou : Yes, he always wears a bellhop's uniform, probably best not to ask, sometimes smuggles a pet squirrel into class.

  * Seccotine: a snoop. Also anything she tells you about me is a lie. (Fantasio lifted an eyebrow at that)




 

And then, last but certainly not least (since it actually was the first thing you noticed, taking half the paper), there was written on red marker:

 

**ZANTAFIO: KEEP AWAY FROM**

And on smaller letters ”Try to ignore him and keep him away from Spirou.”

 

Fantasio blinked.

 

Deciding to push it out of his mind for now, he opened the door, and stepped in.

 

He walked to the desk, glancing at the students already sitting in place.

 

He wasn't sure what he had expected after reading the oddly alarmist note, but they seemed to be more normal than that would have led him to believe. Well, apart from the youth wearing the uniform, but...

So far no attack-squirrels or anything. Although...

 

He sniffed at the air. ”Has someone been smoking?”

 

There were some quick glances shared amongst the students, but no-one spoke.

Fantasio decided to drop it, it probably wasn't the best thing to start with.

 

Although on the other hand he would want to establish some ground rules from the very beginning and make them respect his authority.

 

Hoping it wasn't too cliche, he wrote his name on the blackboard.

”My name is Mr. Fantasio. I will be teaching you biology while Mr. Zorglub is on holiday.”

 

He turned to face the students and gave them his best 'friendly-but-firmly-authoritative' smile he had been practising in front of the mirror for days.

”So, shall we begin with the roll call?”

 

He wanted to put faces on those names on the list.

 

”Lagaffe.”

No answer.

”Gaston Lagaffe.”

”Mmhuh?”

He wasn't sure if Lagaffe had been sleeping, but at least now he was awake, after being elbowed by the bespectaled boy next to him. Who turned out to be Prunelle.

At least they sat next to one another, so following Zorglub's advice on work-partners shouldn't be an issue.

 

”Seccotine.”

”Present.” A boyish girl with a blonde ponytail answered.

 

”Spirou.”

 

”Here.”

As it turned out, the boy in the odd red costume was Spirou. No surprise there. He couldn't see the squirrel anywhere though.

 

And then...

Although Fantasio already had a very good idea who he was.

”Zantafio.”

 

The boy sitting with his feet on the desk answered with a ”hmph.”

 

”Feet off the desk.”

 

The boy complied, looking bored.

No, not a boy.

A young man rather.

 

He looked older than the other students, with a well-maintained pencil moustache. But he couldn't have been older than 18, unless he had repeated a grade or two.

 

Fantasio snapped out of it, hoping that he hadn't been staring.

 

He addressed the class. ”So, Mr. Zorglub's notes tell me you are currently studying ethology?”

There were some affirmative murmurs from the class.

 

”Okay, so open up your text-books from page 87, and let's dive into the exciting world of animal behaviour.”

Fantasio sighed in relief. It hadn't been awful so far, and now he had Zorglub's lesson plan to follow. It'd be fine.

 

…

 

”So, what do you think happened when he rang the bell?” Fantasio asked.

 

Only Prunelle and Gaston were raising their hands. But since both had already answered several of his questions (the former one's answers had been correct, the latter one's _interesting_ ) he scanned the classroom for someone else.

 

His gaze fell on the young man who had been mostly silent during the class.

 

”Zantafio.”

 

”What?”

 

”What happened when Pavlov rang the bell?”

 

”Who cares?”

 

”Well, many biologists and psychologists do, given that his work on classical conditioning was groundbreaking.”

 

The look Zantafio gave him made him suddenly feel very small. ”I repeat, who cares?”

There was laughter from the class.

 

They were interrupted by the classroom bell, and Fantasio couldn't help feeling a bit relieved.

However...

”NOT SO FAST!” Fantasio yelled before anyone managed to get out of the classroom.

 

”You got homework!”

 

There were groans.

 

”Don't blame me, I'm following Mr. Zorglub's lesson plan. Choose an animal behaviour, and write an essay explaining why it happens. Evolutionary biology behind it, similar behaviour in different species, that sort of stuff. For example, submissive behaviour in dogs, or hunting behaviour in hawks.Two-page minimum. Return it by Friday.”

 

His first day and nothing had gone wrong. Well, not horribly.

 

…

 

And in the following days nothing continued to go wrong. Until Friday.

 

”Your essays, please.”

 

To his surprise Zantafio's essay turned out to be well over the required limit.

”Nesting behaviour in Black-headed gulls?”

 

”Yeah.” Zantafio shrugged. ”So?”

 

Fantasio skimmed it through. It seemed to be a rather good essay, too. Suspicious.

”Seagulls your hobby or something? You do a lot of birdwatching?”

 

”Sure.”

 

”Wait a minute.” Fantasio went through the returned essays. His suspicions were confirmed.

”Zantafio, did you really write this?”

 

”Yeah.”

 

”Then why is it written in Prunelle's handwriting? Who just happened to write his essay on the _mating_ behaviour in Black-headed gulls.”

 

”A coincidence.”

 

”Did you pay him to write the essay for you?”

 

Zantafio smirked. ” _Pay_ him? No.”

 

He leaned over the desk, looming over the seated teacher. Who was suddenly very aware that they had been left alone in the classroom.

”Even if you could prove these were written by the same guy, who's to say it was him? And not me?”

 

”One of you is a straight-A student. The other one is- well, _not_.”

 

Zantafio smiled, the kind of smile that gave Fantasio a rather good idea why he had been told to stay away from him. He leaned in, close enough for Fantasio to feel his hot breath on his cheek.

”I could probably get the little nerd to confess _he_ stole my work. Shall we see?”

 

”Enough!” Fantasio stood up. ”I have to think about this!”

And with that declaration (that he'd later realize wasn't terribly impressive or authoritative) he marched out of the classroom, leaving his student behind.

 

…

 

”Prunelle, I need to talk to you.”

 

He nodded, looking resigned and like he knew what was coming.

Fantasio waited that they were alone. ”L _éon_ , did you write Zantafio's essay for him?”

 

He didn't look him in the eye. ”No.”

 

Fantasio sighed. ”Really? Because-”

 

Prunelle interrupted him. ”He wrote both essays.”

 

Fantasio stared. ”Did he tell you to say that?”

 

”I'm not going to say anything else. Is this going to affect my grade, or worse? Will it go on my permanent record?”

 

He was scared, Fantasio was sure of it.

”I'll turn a blind eye, just this once.”

 

”Thanks.”

 

”But will his next essay also be written by you?”

 

The boy didn't answer.

”You can go,” Fantasio told him.

 

It seemed like he couldn't follow Zorglub's advice and just ignore Zantafio.

 

…

 

Fantasio started to pay attention to Zantafio.

Not just in the classroom, but outside of it.

 

He usually ate alone, and in general didn't seem to have any friends. He talked to people, and would have other students run errands for him, but there didn't seem to be anyone specific that he trusted.

 

And L _éon_ definitely wasn't the only person who was afraid of him, he could see people turning around when they saw him approaching, and his body-language when talking to most people was purposefully intimidating.

 

Which he pulled off easily, being taller than most students, if not terribly muscular.

But he had this kind of predatory confidence to him, and it was common for much stronger boys to give way to him, or look uneasy when he talked to them.

 

Fantasio was observing him during recess, wondering if the small package he had seen change hands was a pack of cigarettes, and if he should interfere, when someone spoke to him.

”I've seen you staring at the star bad boy of the class.”

Fantasio jumped. ”What?”

 

The blonde girl grinned. ”Do you want the scoop on him?”

 

She had been a good student, although one who had mostly faded on the background, but Fantasio could recognise her as Seccotine.

He did his best not to look guilty. ”The scoop?”

 

Seccotine grinned. ”I'll be a reporter one day. Gotta practise. Anyway...”

 

He nodded. ”What can you tell me?”

 

”This is just general info, from someone who has had the displeasure of being in the same class as him since elementary school. He's a bully.”

 

”Kinda gathered that much.”

 

Seccotine seemed disappointed her 'scoop' hadn't impressed him.”Well, I guess that's obvious? When he was a kid, he'd get into fights, usually with Spirou. They've given each other more black eyes and bloody noses than I can count. But these days he prefers other methods over brute force.”

 

”Other methods?”

 

”Secrets.”

 

” _Blackmail_? But what kind of secrets would someone like Prunelle have?” Fantasio realized too late he probably shouldn't have mentioned anything about that.

His head didn't seem to be in the right place recently.

 

Seccotine cocked her head. ”Has it been decades since you were in high school? You don't seem _that_ old. It doesn't take much, and  L _éon_... It's really none of my business, but...”

She shook her head. ”It's not a newsstory I'll break, even though I maybe should. Nevermind.”

 

…

 

”No smoking on the school grounds.”

Fantasio had hoped to catch Zantafio off guard. As clear as it was that he was trouble, and it was a fact everyone knew, he was never actually caught breaking the rules.

 

Zantafio blew a puff of smoke in Fantasio's direction. ”I'm over 18, so smoking is perfectly fine, as long as I don't do it on the school grounds. Which this _actually_ isn't.”

 

”This road leading to the school yard is still a part of the school. Also, I wouldn't really say smoking is 'perfectly fine' in any case.”

 

Zantafio tossed his cigarette away.

”Happy now?” He smirked. ”Good to know someone is thinking of my poor lungs.”

He took Fantasio's hand, pulling him closer.

 

”Thank you. Really. Any other horrible life-choices you want to save me from?”

The smile he gave him was the very image of insincerity.

 

Fantasio hoped he wasn't blushing. ”Just doing my job.”

 

The student put a hand on his shoulder. ”Really, this is just a job for you?”

Now Fantasio was sure he was blushing.

 

But this _was_ his job. For a moment there he had forgotten his position and how young the man in front of him really was.

 

He pushed the hand away.

”It's a job, but one doesn't really take up a career in education for the money. Zantafio, if you ever want to talk about things, your education, or just things that bother you, you can come to me.”

 

This _did_ catch the younger man off guard, and for a moment a look of real surprise passed on his features.

 

But it was quickly gone and replaced with the sneer that had become familiar to Fantasio.

”Hmph. As if you could advice anyone.”

 

…

 

”So, I think we can end a bit early today.” Fantasio remarked. ”Unless anyone has any questions about the exam tomorrow? No-one? Okay then, you're free to go.”

 

Fantasio watched the students leave. When something caught his eye.

Lagaffe took Prunelle's hand, only for him to twitch away.

Fantasio saw the nervous smile L _éon_ gave to the other boy and suddenly had a fairly good idea what his secret was...

 

To his surprise, one student stayed behind.

”Zantafio. Have you studied for the exam? I think your normal way of getting through school won't work here.”

 

Zantafio shrugged. ”I guess not.”

 

Fantasio wondered what kind of approach he should take.

Maybe he should try reaching out to him.

”Zantafio, I don't think you would have a hard time actually studying. You're an intelligent young man, if you just put some effort in-”

 

Zantafio stepped closer. ”You think I don't put effort in what I do? Tell me one thing, _Mr._ Fantasio, where in the real world am I ever going to need to know what some old Russian guy did with his bells?”

 

Fantasio stood up to avoid the other man getting to the position of looming over him again.

”Well, you never know-”

 

”While on the other hand, the skills I'm honing here will be _actually_ useful.”

 

”But blackmail?”

 

”You said the word, not me.”

 

He got an odd glint in his eye. ”Although... I might need to try new things. After all, like you said, I can't get anyone to take the exam for me.”

 

”The exam is tomorrow, you got a lot of work ahead of you, if you're planning to pass and haven't even started studying yet.”

 

”Yes, yes. But I think I could catch up. With some tutoring.”

 

”Well, I can help, if you-”

Fantasio was interrupted by the younger man capturing him in a kiss, his lips pushing against his firmly.

 

It took a moment for Fantasio's brain to catch up with his body that had eagerly returned the kiss.

But even when it did, he didn't break contact.

 

It took Zantafio's hand finding it's way under his shirt to shook him out of it.

 

”What!?” He pushed Zantafio away.

 

Who just stood there, grinning and looking way too pleased with himself for Fantasio's liking. ”Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”

 

The reality fully caught up with Fantasio. If people found out he had done that with a student...

”You can't prove anything!”

 

”Well, now you're starting to actually use your brain. But don't worry, I don't have anything like that in mind. Like I said, I'm looking to widen my repertoire. About that exam...”

 

”Well it's not going to have any questions on human mating behaviour!”

 

”Too bad. What _does_ it have, then?”

 

He couldn't mean...

”I'm not going to help you cheat because you made out with me!”

 

Zantafio didn't seem too broken up about it.

”Well, can't blame a guy for trying.”

 

He walked to the door, and turned to look back.

”I guess I have to try harder next time.”

 

Fantasio was left standing middle of the deserted classroom, alone and dumbfounded.

 

And cursing his imagination for turning up with all kinds of images of what that 'next time' would be like.

 

There would be no 'next time'.

 

Definitely not.

 

 


End file.
